They’re not likely to bring you to tears, but will make your kids smile, and you too, since they’re so easy.

Quick to Assemble

Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, you can bang out these slow cooker meatballs in the time it might take your kids to get through breakfast. That’s when I make this, in the morning before school. The recipe is adapted from Skinny Taste, a blog written by Gina Homolka, who does a clever job of making healthy food look and taste gorgeous.

Truth? My slow cooker turkey meatballs aren’t quite as skinny as Gina’s; I snuck a sausage link in there for a little added flavor. And I’ve skipped the step of sautéing an onion since I promised never to give you a crock pot recipe that requires extra cooking. If you have time to spare, go ahead and saute a medium chopped onion in olive oil until tender and mix it in with the rest of the sauce ingredients before adding the meatballs.

Read the Label

Be thoughtful about the seasoned breadcrumbs you buy. Read the label, looking for whole grain options and avoiding ones with junkie ingredients. You can turn up the nourishment by adding a few cups of vegetables to the pot when the meatballs are nearly done and let them cook just long enough to go tender.

Serve ‘Em Straight Up

In our house, we usually serve meatballs in shallow bowls, with crusty bread for mopping up sauce, and a chunk of good Parmesan to grate at the table. Of course, it’s terrific over pasta, rice, or polenta as well.

Saucy Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs

To make this truly a one-dish-meal, you can add two to three cups of roughly chopped raw vegetables to the pot when the meatballs are nearly done and cook until tender. Broccoli or any dark leafy greens work well. Any leftover meatballs can be sliced into coins and piled onto a baguette with cheese, greens, and a spoonful of sauce.

Course
Dinner

Cuisine
Italian

Prep Time20minutes

Servings6servings

Calories322kcal

Authorkatiemorford

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

1poundground turkey

1link uncooked spicy Italian turkey sausage, about 1/4 to 1/3 pound

1/3cupItalian seasoned breadcrumbs(preferably whole wheat)

1/4cupfinely grated Parmesan cheese

1egg

2tablespoonschopped fresh parsley

1tablespoonchopped fresh basil

1/2teaspoonsalt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the Sauce

One 28-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes

One 14.5-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes

2large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2tablespoonschopped fresh parsley

1tablespoonchopped fresh basil

Big pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

1teaspoonsalt

1rounded teaspoon sugar

Instructions

For the meatballs, start by splitting the sausage casing down the center using a sharp knife. Turn the sausage meat out of the casing and into a medium bowl. Add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until evenly combined, being sure the sausage meat is distributed throughout.

Scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of meat and roll it between your hands to form little globes that are the size of a small golf ball. Continue until you've rolled all the meat into balls. You should have approximately 20 meatballs. Set aside while you make the sauce.

Comments

Can’t wait to try this Katie! Your other slow cooker recipe (the chicken w/chard) is the best slow cooker dish I have come across. So many slow cooker dishes end up tasting the same but this one, like your other, promises to be a cut above. Big thanks from a more-than-full-time working mom,
Cynthia

Is it okay to cook for much longer? Unfortunately on some weekdays I’m away from the house for 9-10 hours before rushing home to get a yummy and healthy dinner on the table for the fam! I would love to prep this in the morning before heading to work.

I realize this question was asked a long time ago, but I thought I’d chime in and let you know that I left these meatballs on low for a little more than 10 hours, and they turned out perfectly. I was worried they would fall apart, so I added some extra breadcrumbs, and they were awesome and held up really well!

I love the idea of adding the sausage for a little added UMPH and I was looking for a slow cooker recipe for the week- Thanks! I like to make rosemary and ground lamb meatballs- how does that stack up to turkey and ground chuck/sirloin nutritionally?

Hi Kim, I too love ground lamb. Nutritionally, it is likely to be fattier than turkey and beef, particularly since you often have a choice as to how much fat you want in turkey or beef whereas with lamb, it’s usually just one option. From an environmental standpoint, it’s my understand that lamb is a little easier on the planet than cattle. All that being said, delicious lamb meatballs in the context of a healthy diet … absolutely.

These turkey meatballs were fantastic! My red meat loving fiancé loved them and couldn’t believe they were made with turkey. They are definitely our new favorite crock pot recipe, and he’s requested that I make them in bulk to freeze and eat regularly! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

You can find gluten-free breadcrumbs in many markets. There are even gluten-free Italian breadcrumbs. If you can find neither, you can make your own using gluten-free bread. You may want to boost the ground garlic and add some Italian seasoning such as dried basil and oregano to your meat if you aren’ using Italian breadcrumbs.

I tried this recipe last night and I’m so happy that I did. The meatballs came out perfectly and it was very easy to put together. I had it for dinner last night and I already can’t wait to dig into the leftovers I brought for lunch today. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂

My husband is a beef eater, I am a turkey eater. So I combined the two, otherwise following your recipe. This was a huge hit with our family! Toddler approved too. They also freeze really well. Thank you! Headed to the store to make another batch :).

That’s tricky. The egg works as a binder for the meatballs…but I have a feeling that if you handle them gently, they will stay together. I’ve also heard of people using ground flax meal mixed with water for a binder (1 to 3 ratio), but I’ve never tried it. Worse case if you simply leave the egg out is that you have spaghetti with meat sauce instead of spaghetti with meatballs. Let me know how it goes if you do make it.

Sure, you can absolutely use ground chicken. The sausage adds nice flavor and a little spicy kick to the meatballs. If you want to stick with chicken, I’d look for a spicy chicken sausage, one that is uncooked. Alternatively, you could just use an extra 1/3 pound of ground chicken and maybe up the spices and add a pinch of crushed red pepper.

Hi! These look great and I’m loving all the positive reviews. I would like to make these in bulk and put them in the freezer. Would you suggest baking them first before placing in the freezer and then cooking for a shorter amount of time in the sauce? Any suggestions would be great! Thank you!

So, you want to make a larger batch of just the meatballs to freeze? And then, as needed make smaller batches of the meatballs in sauce in the crock pot? If that’s what you are asking, I’m always a little hesitant to make suggestions when I haven’t tried something myself, BUT, here’s what I’d probably do…I’d make the meatballs, put them in the freezer uncooked in one layer on a baking sheet just until frozen. Once frozen, you can then store them in a container or freezer bag without them clumping together. Then, when you want to make a pot of the meatballs in sauce, pull out the meatballs you need and follow the recipe for cooking them in the sauce. Whether or not you’d need to defrost the meatballs first, I’m not certain. You could also make and bake the meatballs and then freeze them. Let me know if you try it. I’d love to hear your results.

I’ve made this 4-5 times now and just wanted to say THANK YOU for sharing this recipe! It’s become part of our regular rotation. I use dried parsley and basil for convenience and ease. I often use bottled spaghetti sauce like Rao’s. It always turns out great. Thanks again!

Hi Katie,
Saw your post today and had to make these! What a great after the holidays, easy recipe. I had leftover Italian bread from New years day brunch and cooked some fresh green beans, it was a hit!
Thank you!

I am going to try these in next week’s menu. My 4 year old requested spaghetti and meatballs this week (surprising since she usually shuns meatballs) so I remembered seeing your slow cooker turkey meatballs. I have enjoyed many of your recipes in recent weeks.